Anne Goldsmith, 1917-2009

helped ensure Aurora theater's future

Founded the Paramount Arts Center Endowment

May 06, 2009|By Patricia Trebe, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

In the 1980s, Anne Goldsmith knew that the future of the Paramount Theatre in Aurora would be troubled if it did not have private funding. So she sprang into action and founded the Paramount Arts Center Endowment.

"She started to raise $1 million that would serve as an endowment that would provide programming ... to get acts into Aurora," said Dick Hawks, chairman of the board of the Aurora Civic Center Authority. "Most people that raise a million dollars would lean back and admire their work. Anne decided to raise another million dollars. She raised $2 million with hard work, phone calls and never giving up. If you said 'no' to her you might as well know you were going to have to say it again, so get with the 'yes' quickly."

Mrs. Goldsmith, 91, of Aurora died Friday, May 1, in her home of complications of pneumonia.

"She was extraordinary because of her foresight and her vision to realize that there needed to be funding in perpetuity, which was brilliant," said Diana Martinez, executive director of the Paramount Theatre. "[As a result of that fund] we have $125,000 toward entertainers, and that really helps to subsidize costs. ... It helps bring down the ticket cost to over 40 shows. Her gift is really invaluable."

Some of the acts that have come to Aurora as a result of the fund include Frank Sinatra, Itzhak Perlman and professional ballets, as well as extensive children's programming, which was one of the driving forces behind Mrs. Goldsmith, said her son, Bruce.

"I think she was struck by the potential of the theater and how it could be a beacon for the arts," her son said.

Born in Chicago, she graduated at 16 from Von Steuben High School and then entered the University of Chicago, where she met her husband, Zalmon, who was in law school at the time. She received a bachelor of arts degree in French from the university.

The couple married in 1939. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and she moved with him as he was stationed in different parts of the country.

After his discharge, they settled in Aurora in 1946.

Mrs. Goldsmith started out as a homemaker, her son said, but she soon became involved in the local United Way and served on the revenue sharing committee for the city of Aurora, which helped disburse federal money to help fight poverty in the 1960s.

"She just seemed to have an interest in public service. There was always a calling for something and [my parents] would get involved," her son said.

Mrs. Goldsmith also was an active member of the League of Women Voters and chaired candidate forums for local elections. She also served as a board member of the Temple B'nai Israel sisterhood and the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley and was active with the American Association of University Women and Fox Valley United Way.